Marine speed craft



July 11, 1961 c. B. CUNNINGHAM MARINE SPEED CRAFT Filed Sept. 12, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet l July 11, 1961 c. B. CUNNINGHAM MARINE SPEED CRAFT 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 12, 1958 United States, Patent C 2,991,746MARINE SPEED CRAFI Cecil B. Cunningham, 1509 Hockwalt Ave., Dayton, OhioFiledSept. 12, 1958, Ser. No. 760,619 4 Claims. (Cl. 114-'66.5)

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in marine speedcraft or racing boats, and the principal objects of the invention is toprovide a craft of the character herein described which is capable ofvery high speed without sacrifice of stability, particularly whilemaneuvering curves.

As such, an important feature of the invention resides in forming themain body of the craft in the nature of an elongated, slender fuselagewhich, unlike a conventional hull, is disposed above the water line andis provided with transversely extending outrigger-like members equippedat their outer ends with water engaging ski or skid members whichsustain the craft with a substantial amount of both lateral as well asforward and aft stability, thus safe-guarding the craft against tippingor turning over while travelling at high speed.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the provision ofmeans for permitting tilting or banking movement of the aforementionedskis about axes parallel to the fuselage and forming the skis in theshape of inverted channels, so that they may be banked and permitted todig themselves into the water at an angle to prevent lateral skidding ofthe craft while negotiating curves.

Another important feature of the invention involves the provision ofmeans in the form of inflatable and deflatable pontoons on the skimembers which, in their inflated condition, provide buoyancy for thecraft while it is at rest, but which may be deflated so that they do notoffer substantial resistance to the movement of the craft whiletravelling at high speed, when the craft is sustained on water by itsspeed so that the buoyancy afforded by the pontoons is not necessary.

Another important feature of the invention resides in adapting the skimembers for raising and lowering movement relative to the fuselage,whereby to afford what may be called resilient suspension of the crafton the water, as a result of which shocks and vibration incident to themovement of the ski members over water are substantially absorbed beforereaching the fuselage.

Another important feature of the invention resides in its adaptabilityfor use with an outboard motor mounted at the stern of the fuselage, orwith a plurality of inboard motors carried by the respective skimembers, the latter arrangement affording a wide distribution of powerand propelling forces around the craft, rather than concentration ofsuch power and propelling forces at the stern. Moreover, by employingpower units on the individual ski mem bers, such units may be used tosustain the craft on water when the ski members are lowered while thecraft is at rest, without depending entirely on the buoyancy afforded bythe aforementioned pontoons.

With the foregoing more important objects and features in view and suchother objects and features as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the invention will be understood from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whereinlike characters of reference are used to designate like parts, andwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the invention in its travellingposition;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view thereof while at rest;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view similar to that shown in FIGURE 1but with the skin of the fuselage removed;

r 2,991,746 Ce Patented July 5 9 FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of thesubject shown in' FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail on an enlarged scale, showingthe attachment of the ski members;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view, partly in section, ofthe subject shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a front elevational view of the craft shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional detail on'an enlarged scale, taken substantiallyin the plane of the line 88 in FIG- URE 4.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, 5 the marine speedcraft or racing boat in accordance with. the invention is designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 10 and embodies in its constructionan elon gated, relatively slender fuselage 11 which, unlike aconventional hull, is disposed above'the water line 12 'at' all times.The fuselage includes an elongated base member 11a and suitablestreamlined covering or skin 11b,- as Will be clearly apparent,

A transverse outrigger member 13 is rigidly secured. to the fuselagebase member 11a adjacent the forward end or bow thereof and projects toboth sides of the fuselage.= Similarly, a transverse stern member 14 ispivoted to the; member 11a at 15 for steering movement as indicated bythe dotted lines 1411 in FIGURE 4, the steering of the stern member 14being effected from a steering post 16 through the medium of anysuitable conventional means (not illustrated).

Elongated water engaging skis or skids 17, 18 are provide-d at the outerends of the outrigger member 13 and: stern member 14 respectively, theseski members being of an inverted channel-shaped form as is best shown inFIGURE 6 and being provided at their forward ends with i upwardlyprojecting portions 17a equipped with hinge pins 19 for connecting thesame to U-shaped yokes 20." The yokes 20, in turn, are provided withpivot pins or stub shafts 21 which are rotatably journalled in themembers 13, 14 in parallel relation to the longitudinal axis of thefuselage 11. By virtue of this arrangement the ski members 17, 18 areuniversally connected to the re-: spective members 13, 14, whereby theski members maybe lowered and raised between horizontal positions shownin FIGURE 1 and vertical positions shown in FIGURE; 2 and, at the sametime they may be banked or tilted from level positions shown by the fulllines in FIGURE 7 to angularly disposed positions at either side, asexamplified by the dotted lines 22 in that figure.

The banking or tilting of the ski members may be, effected by air orhydraulic cylinders 23 pivoted at 24 to the members 13, 14 and havingtheir pistons 23a, pivoted to cranks 25 rigid with the yokes 20. Therais-, ing and lowering of the ski members may be similarly eifected byair or hydraulic cylinders 26 universally con'-" nected at 27 to themembers 13, 14 and having their pistons or piston rods 26a universallyconnected to the ski members at 28. The outer ends of the outriggermember 13 are preferably provided with rigidly mounted stabilizermembers 29 which are disposed above the ski members 17, and the member13 is also equipped with hingedly mounted deflector flaps 30 which maybe raised to the position shown by the dotted lines 30a in FIGURE 8 bymanipulation of a suitable control in the cockpit of the fuselage.Similar flaps may be also provided on the stern member 14, if sodesired.

Each of the ski members 17, 18 carries an inflatable and deflatablepontoon 31, these pontoons being inflatable from compressed air tanks31a in the fuselage, which also carries suitable air compressor andhydraulic pump unit 32 for actuating the cylinders 23, 26. In addition,a drivers seat 33 is provided in the cockpit 11c behind the steeringpost 16 and the stern of the fuselage member 11a is equipped with asuitable mount 34 for an outboard motor 35 if such is to be used.Alternatively, each of the ski members 17, 18 may be provided with anindividual conventional inboard motor (not shown) driving a propeller36, or the like, it being understood that the propelling means maybe ofthe propeller type, jet type, or of any other suitable conventionalform.

Having thus described the construction of the invention, its'operationwill now be explained.

Whenthe craft is in motion and travelling at high speed, the pontoons 31are deflated as shown in FIGURE 1, so that they do not offer materialresistance to the movement of the craft which is sustained on thesurface of the water solely by its high speed of travel. The pivotal orhinged connection of the ski members 17, 18 by the pins 19 to themembers 13, 14, will effectively absorb shocks and vibration-incident tothe movement of the ski members along the water, so that such shocks andvibration do not reach the fuselage. In this manner, a formof'resiliently yieldable suspension of the craft on water will beattained, it being understood that although the cylinders-26 are capableof raising and lowering the ski members, the latter are free to moveupwardly and downwardly to effect the above mentioned yieldablesuspension when the cylinders 26 are not energized.

To prevent the craft from excessively raising its bow and possiblytipping toward the stern, the deflector flaps 30 may be moved to theposition shown at 30a, thus maintaining the bow of the craftsubstantially level. The channel-shaped configuration of the ski members17, 18 will cause the same to effectively dig themselves into the waterto prevent lateral skidding, this action being particularly pronouncedwhen the ski members are banked or tilted as shown at 22, while thecraft is negotiating curves. Steering of the craft, of course, iseffected by turning of the entire stern member 14 together with its skimembers 18 and when the craft is provided with inboard engines withpropellers at each ski member, very efficient steering control will beobtained. Moreover, under such circumstances the propelling power willbe eflfectively distributed around the craft, both forward and astern,rather than being concentrated at the stern only, as when the outboardmotor 35 is used.

When the craft is at rest as shown in FIGURE 2, the

pontoons 31 are inflated to furnish the necessary buoyancy and the skimembers 17, 18 are preferably lowered to their vertical positions, sothat the fuselage 11 is raised substantially above the water level 12.In this position of the ski members, the inboard driven propellers 36may be actuated so as to furnish an upward lift to the craft forsustaining the same above water, this being especially useful in theevent of any failure of the pontoons 31 to inflate and provide therequired buoyancy.

, The inboard engines of the propellers 36 are, of course, arranged foroperation either in a horizontal or a vertical plane and anyconventional means may be provided for delivering fuel and air to suchengines.

While in the foregoing there has been described and shown the preferredembodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly,it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and variousmodifications may be resorted to, such as may liewithin the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

l. Ina marine speed craft, the combination of an elongated andrelatively slender fuselage, a rigid transverse outrigger member rigidlysecured to the forward portion of said fuselage and projecting to bothsides therefrom,-

a rigid transverse stern member pivoted for steering movement to thefuselage and also projecting to both sides therefrom, a set of waterengaging elongated ski members having front ends thereof movablyconnected to the outer ends of said outrigger member and of said sternmember selectively for raising and lowering movement betweensubstantially horizontal and substantially vertical positions about axestransverse of the fuselage and tilting movement about axes parallel tothe fuselage, means for tilting said ski members, and means for raisingand lowering the same.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 together with selectively inflatableend deflatable buoyant pontoons provided on said ski members.

3. Ina marine speed craft, the combination of an 'elongated andrelatively slender fuselage, a rigid'transverse outrigger member rigidlysecured to the forward portion of said fuselage and projecting to bothsides therefrom, a rigid transverse stern member pivoted for steeringmovement to the fuselage and also projecting to both sides therefrom, aset of water engaging elongated ski members provided at the outer endsof said outrigger member and of said stern member, said ski membersconstituting hydro planes serving to sustain said fuselage afloat onlywhen said craft is in motion and not possessing sufficient buoyancy tosustain the craft afloat when at rest, and selectively inflatable anddeflatable pontoons carried by said ski members, said pontoons beingdeflated when the craft is in motion whereby to lessen their resistanceto water pressure and being inflated when the craft is at rest wherebyto provide sole means for sustaining the craft afloat.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said ski members are movablebetween a substantially horizontal travelling position assumed when saidcraft is in motion and a substantially vertical position when the craftis at rest, and means for moving said ski members between the horizontaland vertical positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,133,629 Foster Mar. 30, 1915 1,750,959 Lake Mar. 18, 1930 1,846,602Lake Feb. 23, 1932 2,347,959 Moore et al. May 2, 1944 2,918,029 LegatDec. 22, 1959

